Slaying the country music scene — all while dating dreamy Outer Banks star Chase Stokes — Kelsea Ballerini has become a major “it girl” since her oh-so public split from fellow country star Morgan Evans.
In 2024, the talented singer/songwriter put out her highly-anticipated fifth studio album, PATTERNS, which featured smash hits like “Baggage,””Sorry Mom,””Cowboys Cry Too” (featuring Noah Kahan) and more. While its predecessor, an EP titled Rolling Up The Welcome Mat, covers the heartbreak that stemmed from her divorce, PATTERNS covers the healing and overall happiness that came afterwards, creating a body of work that was truly a breath of fresh air for Ballerini fans.
In the midst of this new era, Ballerini began her new role as a coach on The Voice season 27, as well as embarked on her 2025 arena tour: “Kelsea Ballerini – Live On Tour.”
Now just one question remains: What’s next for the 31-year-old?
Well, she spilled all the tea in a recent interview with ELLE, teasing that her next project might transition out of the country scene.
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While there are no concrete details yet when it comes to her sixth studio album, Ballerini told the outlet, “I intend to do more genre-blending. That excites me.” To follow, she shared that SZA is a dream collaborator of hers, and now we can’t stop fantasizing over what a collaboration between the two icons would sound like.
On the topic of genre-blending, the Tennessee native was asked, “Cowboy Carter won Album of the Year at the Grammys, and Lana del Rey and Zayn Malik have made country pivots. What is your take on all of these artists making inroads into country?”
Naturally, Ballerini is in favor or artists breaking boundaries when it comes to music, swiftly replying, “If we, as country artists, feel like we can have a collab on top 40 or have a collab with an R&B artist, why wouldn’t we give a welcome to someone else? I think that’s where people who are pushing back really need to check themselves, because music is for everybody, and specifically country music, the marquee of it is it’s the people’s story.”
Given how positively she views genre-blending — as well as how much she wants to work with SZA — could a duet be in the works? While there is no way to know for certain, it is safe to say that we will be keeping up with both Ballerini and SZA on social media for any further updates: @kelseaballerini and @sza.
